ވާތަށް
“ވާތަށް” (vaathah) — to the left in Maldivian. Adverb, level A1, topic — asking the way. Vaath is 'the left hand' plus the same directional ending. In a live sentence: “ފިހާރަ ވާތަށް ހުރޭ” — The shop is on the left. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters ވ, ާ, ތ, ަ, ށ, ް. One of 19 words in the set “asking the way” in the Maldivian course.
In short
| Written in Maldivian | ވާތަށް |
| Read in Latin letters | vaathah |
| Translation | to the left |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | A1 |
- ވާތަށްvaathahto the left
Why it looks that way
Vaath is 'the left hand' plus the same directional ending
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- ފިހާރަ ވާތަށް ހުރޭfihaara vaathah hureyThe shop is on the left
Nearby words: asking the way
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
- ކޮބާ؟kobaa?where?Asked about a thing you're looking for: kobaa fen?, 'where is the water?'
- ކަނާތަށްkanaathahto the rightkanaath is 'the right hand', -ah the direction: literally 'toward the right hand'
- ސީދާseedhaastraight aheadOf a road, and of a person — 'straight, honest'
- ކައިރިkairicloseFrom it comes kaireegai, 'near' — the most frequent place phrase in the course
- ދުރުdhurufarPartner to kairi. 'Is it far?' is dhuruthaa?
- މިތާmithaahereMi, 'this', plus thaa, 'place'. Partner to ethaa, 'there'
- އެތާethaathereE, 'that', plus thaa, 'place'. Further from the speaker than mithaa
- މަގުmagustreet, roadStreet, road and way. In Malé addresses it's the second word: Majeedhee magu
- ކިހިނެއް ދާނީkihineh dhaaneehow do I get there?Literally 'how will I go'. To a stranger on the street you ask politely, with the -thoa particle
- ފޯރުންfoarunto get toLiterally 'to reach': about the end of the journey, not the walking itself. Day to day people just say 'to go'
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “asking the way”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to the left” in Maldivian?
Vaath is 'the left hand' plus the same directional ending
- How do you say “there” in Maldivian?
E, 'that', plus thaa, 'place'. Further from the speaker than mithaa
- How do you say “straight ahead” in Maldivian?
Of a road, and of a person — 'straight, honest'
- How do you say “to get to” in Maldivian?
Literally 'to reach': about the end of the journey, not the walking itself. Day to day people just say 'to go'
- How do you say “here” in Maldivian?
Mi, 'this', plus thaa, 'place'. Partner to ethaa, 'there'
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “to the left” in Maldivian?
«ވާތަށް», read “vaathah”. In a live sentence: “ފިހާރަ ވާތަށް ހުރޭ” — The shop is on the left. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adverb, level A1, from the set “asking the way”; written with the characters ވ, ާ, ތ, ަ, ށ, ް.
How is “ވާތަށް” written in Latin letters?
vaathah. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Vaath is 'the left hand' plus the same directional ending. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.